This entire album is great. Merle took the Bakersfield Sound to the masses like nobody else. The Strangers, Merles band, is the best in Country music history. Merle is a huge Jazz fan and incorporates Jazz in many songs.

Merle was in San Quinten when Johnny Cash came to play there. This inspired Merle. So I guess he rescued him. I heard Merle say that when he first met Johnny Cash he told him he said to him “Last I saw you was at San Quinten” and Johnny replied”I don’t remember you being in the band”. To which Merle replied “I was in the audience”

I love Merle Haggard's voice. It was like silk. Just beautiful.

Lonesome Fugitive was Merle's first Number 1 song and Sing Me Back Home was his 3rd Number 1. Excellent choices of his multitude of classic country songs. Merle's voice is so smooth and easy to listen to. Great video. Great reaction Harri. Thanks Harri and Blueyed Kansan. 👏👏 Cheers from Canada 🇨🇦

His Silver Wings is diamonds in my ears. Nice review Harri

RIP Merle. That's the country music I grew up with. That brought a few tears to my eyes, it's hell getting old and having those old faded memories resurface. Thanks Harri & BEK.

I got to see him a couple of months before he passed away. He was in Austin and his sons were in the band with him. Grew up with him and my country phase while I was in college and used to listen to him driving between school and home. Kinda grew up with Waylon, Kristofferson, Jerry Jeff, Willie, Johnny Cash, David Allen Coe and Merle. He had a nice mellow voice. And yes he sang about his life experiences and the common working man. I Started Loving You Today is another good one. The Fightin' Side of Me, Mama Tried are a couple of others. Pancho and Lefty with Willie is another good one and of course, Okie from Muskogee.

The LEGEND Merle Haggard! He is in my top 5 Country Music Male artist of all time. Great request. What a great analysis and reaction Harri!

Your my favorite memory of all, by Merle Haggard. Turned me into a country fan. ❤

You can't top Merle singing Sing Me Back Home. But another terrific version of it is a cover by The Grateful Dead (I know you've reacted to a number of their songs) from a live performance in Veneta, Oregon in 1972. Jerry will have you practically in tears. If you can find the live concert clip of it, you'll be so taken by it. I think it's out there on youtube somewhere. But if you can't find the live video performance, there are several audio recordings of that particular performance out there.

Oklahoma's own, rest in peace Okie. Thanks for your reaction Harri!

Oh boy Harri, you finally hit my hometown hero....THE HAG

It doesn't get more honest and real then when Merle sayings about what he knows and it's hard outstanding stuff Henry

Thx so much, Harri. Merle is one of my favorite voices of the last six decades. It's just so damn beautiful. Check out Silver Wings. Listen to him for an album and he transports you to where he wants you to go. Amazing voice and a good guitar player and songwriter too Peace and love.

I have several favs of his. Rainbow Stew Leonard Mama's Hungry Eyes

Thanks, Harri what a great reaction. One of my regrets was never seeing him in person. He was coming to Kansas and I was waiting for tickets to go on sale when he passed away. I will give you a couple more for next month.. Be well, take care

This was the sound of my childhood. Listening to my dad playing his guitar and singing Merle songs. Merle, Vern Gosdin, Johnny Rodriguez and countless others. My dad has been gone for over 38 years but songs like this bring him back to life for me.

I enjoy watching these reaction videos of people that's never heard my kind of music. I grew up with Merle, and I love seeing others appreciate the talent and loving his music.

Tom T , Hall was an amazing singer and song writer !!!!

His son sounds just like him, they harmonize almost as well as Willie Nelson, who can harmonize with anyone. MY FAVORITE MEMORY OF ALL is spine tingling..❤❤

The lady singing backup is Bonnie Owen. He was married to her at one point but even after they divorced she sang backup for him. Lots of wonderful songs. Johnny Cash did not "rescue" him. Just inspired him to turn is life around when Cash performed at San Quentin and Merle was in the audience as an inmate.

This is my favorite Merle Haggard song! All of his songs are fantastic, but this one really touches my heart. That incredible voice is mesmerizing! The lady in purple singing backup vocals is his second ex-wife (5 wives total). She was always there for him and sang with him for many years, even after the divorce until her death. He had several sons who are great singers in their own right.

The Hag. A country music legend that gives me chills down my spine every single time. You should check out the song called Silver Wings. I was blessed to see him twenty-three years ago in Sacramento California at the venerable Crest theater with a seating capacity of less than 2,000. Plus it was on my birthday. Amazing show from an amazing man.

“In The Movies” is another one of my favorites from the Hag - also his son Ben Haggard has a beautiful version of it

Harri keep doing what you are doing! You are a unique voice on KZfaq! Peace be with you my brother!!!

I bought an album by Merle when I was 10 or 11 years old "MAMA TRIED" and still have that album. I'm almost 64 now. The album is still great!

Please do mama tried. He was in Folsom an adult prison

The lady is Bonnie Owens. They were divorced but stayed singing together

I have never heard a bad Merle Haggard song. They are all deserving of recognition. Daddy Frank If We Make it Through December Mamma Tried That's the Way Love Goes The Fightin' Side of Me Big City

Everything Merle did was fabulous. Two of my favorites, which often get overlooked are ‘My House of Memories’ and ‘The Running Kind’

Check out his song “ Momma Tried”

Love Merle.

"I raised a lot of cain back in my younger days While Mama used to pray my crops would fail" Echoes of his song "Mama Tried". Beautifully encapsulates the love and pain of a mother with a wild child.

Mama's Hungry Eyes, also by Merle Haggard.

Check out Guy Clark, aka the Song Doctor. Try 'Desperados Waitin' For A Train'. One of the tenderest love songs ever written. Couple of years ago I saw Merle's band on stage with Kris Kristofferson in Belfast, Ireland. The playing blew me away. Shame I never saw Haggard live. His voice had the timbre of working class pain.

The lady singing backup is Bonnie Owens, Merle's ex-wife. She sang with him all through the 60's and 70's and into the 80's. The entire "Branded Man" album is a must-hear. Merle had one of the most beautiful voices I've ever heard. If you love songs like this, I'd recommend "Long Black Limousine," also from the Branded Man album. May he and Bonnie rest in peace!

In case you didn't know, the woman singing is depending on when this was done, either still his wife, or Ex wife Bonnie Owens. Her first husband was Buck Owens, and the mother of his son Buddy Alan, who was seen quite a bit on Hee Haw. He looks like Buck. When she passed away in 2007, Merle paid for her funeral. During the guitar break near the end, the two gentleman sitting playing were Lead Guitarist Roy Nichols, and Steel Guitar player Norman Hamlett, they were from the Original Strangers, who was his backing band on shows, and records.

Downtroddin' Outlaw Country....yep....🤠

More merle his later albums are great too look up okie from muskogee and other great hits! All his songs are amazing

Give his song "I think I'll just stay here and drink" a listen .... very up beat and just a great song.

His Dust Bowl Okie music is some of the best there is. "one Row at a Time," "California Cotton Fields," "Tulare Dust," and "Hungry Eyes." They tell about the plight of the dustbowl okies who came out to California for a better life, and were treated like second class citizens because they were dirt poor. "Hungry Eyes" in particular, will chill you right ot your soul.

Merl writes his own songs. I love his songs, Mamma Tried.

A little bit of info ... the lady singer behind Merle, is his real life wife, but she was married to Buck Owens (a great Country singer/icon/legend). BTW, here's a few of Buck Owens' big hits ... Tiger by the Tail kzfaq.info/get/bejne/oKiVgseVytDNd6s.html Streets of Bakersfield with Dwight Yoakam (another great country singer) kzfaq.info/get/bejne/o6hnorh6mJipYY0.html Act Naturally kzfaq.info/get/bejne/nLWgmq9l0tepmac.html and of course one of my favorites Made in Japan kzfaq.info/get/bejne/q8p4mKWT25a2k30.html Bonnie Owens passed away on April 24, 2006. Merle has been married 5 times. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Merle_Haggard

They're hanging me tonight, Marty Robbins

So cool to see yall check out other genres.

The woman singer was Merle's ex-wife, Bonnie Owens. When she was in a rest home, Merle visited her. She had his picture on her wall. But, sadly, she did not recognize him in person. She was first married to Buck Owens. Also, she was responsible for getting Merle into the music business. A fine performer in her own right. Check out the early videos of their duets.

You would love Tom T. Hall. “That’s How I got to Memphis” and “I Washed My Face in the Morning Dew” are my favorites.

Merle was "The Voice" long before our good friend Steve Perry......... :) :)

The way I am by Merle is another classic

Sturgill Simpson has a smooth voice that reminds me of Merle Haggard. A good sample of his talent is I Don't Mind from his Cuttin' Grass Vol. 1.

I raised a lot of cane in my younger days . My mama used to pray my crops would fail . Them's some country lyrics . Hank would be proud !

Thank-you for your thoughtful reaction.. Merle is a ‘one of a kind’ country icon.. incredibly popular in the 60s and 70s.. but remained revered until his passing. Had the pleasure of seeing him in concert in the early 2012 when he was joined on stage by the (also) amazing Kris Kristofferson! By this time Merle was showing some effects of his lung disease.. but he still gave a wonderful performance of all his hits! You should consider listening to his “Mama Tried” and ‘Okie from Muskogee’.. both #1 country hits for him!

Haggard was in San Quentin doing time and saw Johnny Cash perform there and that is one of the times that saved his life. The other was that he was going to escape with a guy, the man warned him they he was not going to come back, and that he was going to quote, "hold court on the street." The guy escaped, was out for awhile, shot a California Highway Patrol and and came back to prison on a death sentence. They walked him through the yard, one guard in front, and one in back, to signify a death sentence. They executed him sometime in 1961. Haggard was in solitary confinement for discipline, which was unused cells on Death Row. That is where the song "Sing Me Back Home" came from.

>> I raised a lot of cane back in my younger days, while Mama used to pray my crops would fail.

The Oakridge Boys...I'll Be True To You. A sad song too.

B.E.K - This Merle Haggard song was an excellent submission indeed. I thoroughly enjoyed this one. Harri, another superb review.

Harry you gotta do Merle’s… rainbow stew, rambling fever, are the good times really over for good, working man blues….. and many more

I always said Merle Haggard had the most beautiful male vocal fro earlier country music.

although I do remember you did sing me back home, thank you for all the fun times

Country gold!❤

He wasn’t just in jail. He was in prison and that’s where he saw Johnny Cash perform Johnny Cash to the show, and he decided that that’s what he wanted to do was saying

Listen to Merle Haggard do "Black Limousine" was during this same group as Sing me back home!. Or Farmers Daughter!

Harri a young contemporary country artist playing traditional is Moe Pitney. He does a wonderful live version of “Borrowed Angel” can find on YT channel Country Roads or lookup on YT- Brilliant version of Borrowed Angel. Young Moe performs this song in front of veteran country artist and backed by a collection of stellar Nashville musicians. The “ Brilliant version of Borrowed Version” has the exact same performance but video is longer because it includes some humorous and interesting banter of introduction and backstory.

Yes, merle was a juvenile delinquent, and it ultimately landed him for a term at San quinton prison in California, where he eventually saw a New Year’s Eve show where Johnny Cash performed, and he did say that was a catalyst getting out of prison and turning his life around

Try “Rose Colored Glasses” by John Conlee for similar tone of voice and soaring harmonies you find in Merle Haggard songs. (but there is only one Hag 😉) ♥️

That’s the way Love 💕 Goes by Merle Haggard

Merle was in San Quentin and John Cash came to perform there. Seeing this Merle made his mind up to give up crime and chase his music.

Merle is the Bomb

Try "The Green, Green Grass of Home", written by Claude "Curly" Putman Jr., and first recorded by singer Johnny Darrell in 1965

Merle Haggard I wonder if they ever think of me.

I love the deep resonance of Merle Haggard’s voice. This sounded great. Thanks BlueEyedKansan and Harri🌺✌️

Merle is country royalty.

Merle has great interviews on yt. He tells of his resurgence and living secluded on a houseboat on Lake Shasta before emerging from a funk he was in. Taylor guitar makes a Merle signature series which I think is there best guitar.

My very favorite singer of all time.

As you probably know, Jerry Garcia does a soulful version of Sing me back....

Song in a similar vein - not prison, but migration for work opportunities that didn't turn out as good as imagined. "Detroit City" by Bobby Bare, there's a live version from Oslo 1964 that's good. Haggard's "Mama Tired" covers some of the same ground. It's been widely covered. His "Branded Man" deals with life after release form prison. Another option is "Green Green Grass of Home" - Porter Waggoner did the first version that charted, there's a live version from his TV show.

React to Workin' Man Blues by Merle Haggard.

Dwight Yoakum- Acustic version of I Sang Dixie Will He Died.

Check out Branded Man, too. The music and vocals of the chorus are very similar to Lonesome Fugitive and they share the same subject matter. It’s almost as if he made two songs out of one.

Merle ❤

Listen to Vern Gosdin's "Chiseled in Stone" for a tearjerker.

A similar song to this one, "The Green Green Grass of Home" by Porter Wagoner.

An American treasure.

Listen to his song, " What Have You Got Planned Tonight Dianna". It will touch you.

I was 100% Waylon Jennings until I heard Merle. Since that day Merle is my absolute, no one is even close favorite.

The song was about a friend he made in prison. He escaped , killed a guard and was put to death.

The lady singing harmony was his wife, Bonnie Owens, formerly married to Buck Owens.

I had 2 tickets for a Haggard concert in the mid 70's, my "date" found something better to do and stood me up. So, I asked his roommate if he wanted the other ticket. He did ... one year later, I married him. #cowboypoet

Tom T Hall , the year Clayton Delaney died is an amazing song

I have a live gospel album from the early 70s.

The Grateful Dead covered Sing me back home, very well.

❤❤❤❤❤

None ever better

A J Lee and Blue Summit, Backersfield Clay

Listen to SILVER WINGS and BRANDED MAN.

i have a song you will have more than dimonds in your ears ...the louvin brothers ..and the song is called ...in the pines

Try Vince Gill, Go Rest High on that Mountain

Anything from Don Williams !! Trust me !!

He did not rescue merle. Merle saw Jonny perform and was inspired

You may like Craig Morgan song Almost Home. Not the Jelly Roll Version.